The Carrboro Town Council recently endorsed an action plan to help improve bike and pedestrian safety in the community. The draft Vision Zero action plan specifically aims to help eliminate traffic deaths and serious injuries in Carrboro by 2030 through pedestrian safety projects.
The town first joined the multi-national Vision Zero commitment to road safety in 2023, and by adopting the action plan, town staff can now make a list of specific projects to pursue, Carrboro’s Interim Planning Director Tina Moon said at the April 1 town council meeting.
“Here in Carrboro any fatality is is too many, as well as any serious injury,” Moon said. “So I think we are striving to beat that timeline, which is really quite a ways out for a small town.”
Proposed projects under the plan include restriping the intersection of West Main and West Poplar Streets and adding buffers to existing bike lanes along Hillsborough Road. Another is installing Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons (RRFBs), specifically along North Greensboro Street and Hillsborough Road, to indicate pedestrian crossings with a flashing light.
Moon said the action plan also compliments Carrboro’s Safe Routes to School efforts, which are working to improve bike/ped access to Carrboro Elementary and McDougle Elementary and Middle.
To support the projects, the council also passed a unanimous motion to support an application for a Safe Streets and Roads for All demonstration grant. According to staff, the estimated total cost for the project is about $350,000, with the town matching 20 percent of that. Moon said staff has until June to finalize the grant application and the action plan.
Carrboro Mayor Barbara Foushee said she is excited to be part of the Vision Zero effort making it safer for community members to move in and around town.
“A lot happens on that shared space on the road,” Foushee told 97.9 The Hill last week. “You have cars, you have buses, you have bikes. Sometimes there are baby strollers, people walking, people running.”
But even as the town strives to make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists to travel, she urged drivers to be observant while on the road.
“Put the phone down, pay attention to your surroundings and what’s happening around you,” Foushee said. “Especially when you get in and around downtown. We have folks standing on corners, waiting to cross.”
Chapel Hill is also following the Vision Zero blueprint for road safety, adopting a resolution in 2021. One major town improvement included the Estes Drive Connectivity Project, widening the road and adding bike lanes and sidewalks along the throughway. RRFB and bike lane installations are another town effort towards eliminating traffic fatalities.
Learn more about Chapel Hill’s Vision Zero commitment and view its Road to Zero dashboard here.
To view the full Carrboro Town Council meeting, click here.
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